Civil War Slang: Derogatory Words For Yankee

[wildemoliere]

I'm writing a story set in a slightly steampunked American Civil War. Most of the technological deviations have not yet happened, and history is pretty much the same until 1862. The character, who has just joined the Union Army, is listing derogatory slang terms for Yankee. I have scoured the internet and I keep coming up with the same three

Comments

[spikesleman]

Sherman's men were sometimes called Bummers, but I think that was mostly late in the war so would be not quite right for your time frame. Union artillery men were called Redlegs. And of course there's always Billy Yank or just Billy.

Those are the only ones I know.

[tears_of_nienna]

"Lincoln Boys" and "doodles" were used by the South. The South was also known to call abolitionists (and later Union soldiers) "white n***ers."

John D. Wright's The Language of the Civil War doesn't function very well as a thesaurus, but it's incredibly useful if you're writing a story from the era.

[wildemoliere]

Ooooh, I like "doodles."

Ooooooh, there's a book. Going to go find it now, brb.

[dgirl1300]

Yep. See the song "Yankee Doodle Dandy". I thought everyone knew that...then again I grew up in the South.

[corvideye]

Ah... I know the song, but didn't know what 'doodle' meant!

[wildemoliere]

Yankee is and was at the time one of those derogatory terms that the people being derided turn around and use as a term referring to themselves, even a term of pride. A similar thing was done with Rebel, especially after the war.

[randomstasis]

I thought the term was "damyankees"?

[marycatelli]

damyankees was the one I would recognize

[mamamiau]

Aside from just "Yank" the only one I know in general use is Blue-belly.

Have never heard of Mudsill. It seems to come from this 1858 speech by a South Caroline senator, referring to Northern manual laborers: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h3439t.html

Re: Little Coot," also unfamiliar to me, in some parts of the South a "cooter" is a snapping turtle, so maybe that's where that one comes from?

Not familiar with "redlegs" referring to artillerymen. I think the term was pretty regional -- and referred to Union-sympathizing guerrillas operating in the Kansas-Missouri area. See: http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/r/red_legs.html

[catch_colt]

I'd have to suggest "Black Republican."

http://www.baptistboard.com/showthread.php?t=24243